LYNN – As she slides into the final year of her first term in office, Mayor Judith Flanagan Kennedy said she believes the city is moving in the right direction.”I’m happy to continue on the track we’re on,” she said.The crime rate has dropped 4 percent, a ferry project is moving forward and a Market Basket supermarket is planned for the General Electric property on Federal Street.Kennedy said she and Lynn Police Chief Kevin Coppinger credit the drop in crime to feet on the street.”I think we both attribute it to the presence of the (Community Liaison Teams) and added members of the force,” she said.The teams are essentially beat cops who patrol in each ward on foot or bicycles with the goal of getting to know the neighbors, neighborhoods and the problems therein.Other neighborhood initiatives include a dog park on Parkland Avenue that is scheduled to open in the spring, she noted.Lynn Auditorium should be air conditioned by fall and, as soon as the Lynn City Council approves, Kennedy will launch a senior tax abatement program, she said.”I think we’ll see a huge improvement in the playgrounds once we put the bond money into operation,” she added.The council approved a $4 million bond in December, the highest amount that council can approve without approval, with a healthy portion aimed at rehabbing and repairing the city’s parks and playgrounds. Kennedy said the work would likely begin in the spring and shouldn’t conflict with programs or sports leagues.There are still problems, however, as the defunct Blockbuster Video store on Boston Street remains empty, waterfront development is slow and a trash ordinance remains in limbo.The city has been working to secure a plan for South Harbor but nothing has come to fruition. Located near the General Edwards Bridge on the Lynnway, South Harbor is a key location in city planners’ visions for turning Lynn’s waterfront from undeveloped and underdeveloped land into tax-producing commercial and residential developments and open space.Although a deal to develop the property has been hinted at, Kennedy said she has heard nothing further on the issue.She has also heard nothing from the City Council Ordinance Committee regarding a trash ordinance, a group she put together, wrote and presented to the council in August.”I’m looking forward to getting action on the trash ordinance,” she said. “It’s still sitting in council waters.”She said she hoped the council would approve it or use it as a template to draft its own ordinance, “but I haven’t heard anything.”Kennedy, however, said overall she is pleased with the way things are moving in the city.”We have some big stuff coming up and lots of things moving toward fruition,” she said.Kennedy is also looking toward one other big issue, a re-election campaign, but said she won’t get into that until March.”I want to give people a breather from the November election,” she said.Chris Stevens can be reached at [email protected].